


Butterfly Prince

by CrownJoong



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Fae & Fairies, M/M, Seonghwa is aware of his feelings and Hongjoong is getting there, it's an AU but also set vaguely in the canon-verse, kind of slow burn?, lots of pretty wings, red-haired faerie hongjoong, set slightly pre-debut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:22:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26669644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrownJoong/pseuds/CrownJoong
Summary: It was in the hot, humid summer before their debut that something truly mysterious occurred. Even years later, Seonghwa couldn't quite believe what actually happened while the moon loomed high, night after night. It was a summer of magic, exhaustion, sparkling gold and love.Hongjoong is taken to the Realm of the Fae one night, where the Queen takes a liking to him. She makes him an offer that changes both Hongjoong and Seonghwa's summer dramatically.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Butterfly Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic in a looong time and my first Ateez fic! I hope you'll enjoy it, I'm very excited to write something for this ship! This will be multi-chapter and I will update as fast as I can. Comments are greatly appreciated if you have anything you'd like to say! :) 
> 
> Before we start, the Faerie Queen is absolutely not and will not be romantically interested in Hongjoong - just to avoid any confusion on that topic. 
> 
> Lastly, I have a freshly-made twitter account if anyone would like to be mutuals! I mostly just use it for browsing atm as I have no Atiny friends :( It's @ CrownJoong if you would like to follow!

It was in the hot, humid summer before their debut that something truly mysterious occurred. Even years later, Seonghwa couldn't quite believe what actually happened while the moon loomed high, night after night. It was a summer of magic, exhaustion, sparkling gold and love. 

Seonghwa had always been fond of Hongjoong, ever since they met. The younger male had so much determination and drive; he worked hard every single day, from morning till night - or, often, from morning till morning, stopping only to get the minimum amount of sleep he needed to function properly. He was also a gentle soul, caring and kind and interested in issues that the other members of their group often knew little about until Hongjoong taught them. On top of that, Hongjoong threw himself fully into all of their training sessions, be it dancing or rapping or producing. Seonghwa didn’t know where he got the energy from - and then he had the audacity to be extremely handsome and charismatic when performing. Hongjoong could alternate from handsome to cute in a matter of seconds, but his charisma and sheer lovable nature always shone through, no matter what he was doing. In short, Seonghwa had come to realise he might have some feelings for Hongjoong. 

But there was also always something that held him back from Hongjoong. He wanted to be closer to the younger male - desperately so - but his acute awareness of that fact made him overthink every time they were together. They hadn’t even debuted yet and Seonghwa simply couldn’t afford to make things awkward by acting too clingy or coming across as too interested. He wished he could be as casual and carefree as the other members appeared to be, but Seonghwa was an overthinker by nature. He regularly doubted his abilities, his looks and his usefulness to the group, even though he had already been selected as a ‘visual’ member and a vocalist, and objectively they were all good at dancing. Despite his worries Seonghwa was determined not to let the other members know about his inner thoughts and had quickly settled into acting out a motherly role for the younger members - while Hongjoong was labelled the dad of the group - which was perhaps the only thing Seonghwa felt remotely confident in. He was both overly caring towards others and overly caring about how he himself performed and behaved; especially around Hongjoong.

It was on a warm evening-turned-night that they all decided to wander into the park near their dorms, bellies full with take-out food and soda. At first they were just bounding around, burning all the energy they would have already used up had it not been a day off from dance practice. But then Mingi thought he saw something in amongst the gathering of trees to their left. His yelping was met with a deadpan comment from Yeosang, and then before Seonghwa knew it they were all making their way to the trees, Mingi hovering behind the rest of the pack. Hongjoong's father mode kicked in and he attempted to herd the boys back away from the trees, arguing that there weren't any lamps in that part of the park and it was too dangerous, because what if Mingi really had seen something? Seonghwa agreed with the sentiment and chided the younger males when they merely ignored their leader. But then San and Wooyoung had exchanged mischievous smirks and within a few seconds they were gone, gone into the darkness of the trees, with only Wooyoung's high-pitched laughter to hint at where they were. 

“Crap,” Hongjoong squinted into the darkness and bent forward, as if the trees would illuminate themselves if he stared hard enough, “They better not hide in there! I thought San was a scaredy-cat anyway!? Anyway...Seonghwa,” He stood upright and turned to the taller male, “Could you take the others back? I'll go get these two.”

“Are you sure?” Seonghwa's eyebrows rose up, “Weren't you worried about going in there?”

Hongjoong smiled softly and nodded, “It doesn't go on very far. It won't take long, it's just if they start playing games,” He frowned to himself, “They'll be coming to our room tonight for a talking to.”

Seonghwa laughed at that – any time the younger males caused trouble Hongjoong would threaten to bring them to his and Seonghwa's shared room to be lectured. It wasn't just for show; he really would lecture them on what it meant to be an idol and how they would have to behave properly once they debuted, showing the proper respect to their seniors and taking things seriously. 

“Okay,” He clapped his hands and turned to the remaining four boys, “Our leader says it's home-time, so let's go.”

There were a few groans from Yunho, Yeosang and Jongho, who wanted to see what Hongjoong was going to do, but Mingi was more than happy to comply. After a few minutes they left the park, and when Seonghwa glanced over his shoulder he saw Hongjoong stepping into the darkness of the trees. 

After an hour and a half, Seonghwa began to worry. He'd tidied their room, cleaned the floor, taken a shower and they still hadn't returned. Something seemed off – there was no way San and Wooyoung would prank Hongjoong for that long. The other members all loved to tease their leader but they also respected him; they knew not to take things too far for too long. Seonghwa sat in his bed, idly playing with his phone as his mind sped through a myriad of possible situations, going from bad to worse.

It was Mingi who first knocked on the door and peeked his head in when Seonghwa hummed gently in response. His brows were upturned with worry and he seemed small despite his stature. 

“Hyung,” He shuffled in slowly, “They're still not back yet...”

Seonghwa pressed his lips into what he hoped was a reassuring smile, “I know. They're probably getting lectured out there or something – maybe Hongjoong is really angry.” He flashed a little grin, all that he could muster.

Mingi gave his own grin at that, his eyes forming little half-moons. He continued shuffling closer to Seonghwa until the older male gave his mattress a pat, knowing what the other wanted. Mingi sat down on the bed and drew his knees up to his chest with a tiny sigh. “Can I stay with you until they come home?”

“Of course.”

After another half an hour the front door opened and Seonghwa shot up out of his bed, Mingi following close behind. Yunho, Yeosang and Jongho also burst into the hallway at almost the exact same time, all wide-eyed and expectant. San and Wooyoung stood by the door, their faces searching and then frowning simultaneously. 

“Is...is Hongjoong not back yet?” San asked carefully. Wooyoung reached out to squeeze his hand gently.

“No,” Yunho answered as the others shook their heads silently, “We were expecting you all to come back together.”

Wooyoung chewed on his lip as he and San exchanged worried looks. He turned to Seonghwa, as if explaining to him alone, “We heard hyung say he was coming in to get us, so we thought we'd hide for a few minutes...but then he just never came? It's not like the area with trees was even big so we just thought it would be funny! After about ten minutes we tried to look for him but...but we just couldn't see him anywhere!” Wooyoung's voice progressively became higher-pitched as his eyes became glossy with tears, “Then we sat out in the park and called for him for ages but still nothing…!”

“We thought maybe he'd gone home instead, like he was trying to teach us a lesson or something,” San sniffled, “But if he's not here maybe something happened to him...what if there was a person in there? What if he's been taken?” At this point San couldn't hold in his tears any more; they rolled down his cheeks and his chest shuddered as he breathed in. Wooyoung pressed his face into San's shoulder so he could hide his own crying face from the others.

Seonghwa rushed over to them and dropped to his knees, placing a gentle hand on each of them. He soothed them for a short while until they seemed calm enough to listen to him. 

“Go and shower,” He instructed softly, “Go to bed and rest. I'll take a quick look around the streets for Hongjoong and if I can't find him I'll tell our manager what's happened. I'm sure he's okay; for all we know he could have just gone off to the studio,” Seonghwa turned his head to look at the others behind him, “You guys too, you should get some sleep.”

After the younger males had disappeared back to their respective rooms, or the bathroom, Seonghwa hastily pulled a hoodie over his pyjama top and pulled on some trainers. He was vaguely aware he looked ridiculous but he couldn't bring himself to care when Hongjoong could be hurt or lost somewhere. After double checking he had enough battery power left on his phone he marched out to the front door, nearly jumping out of his skin when said door slowly opened. A little head of blonde hair appeared, and then Seonghwa saw Hongjoong's face peering up at him as he pushed the door open further. His expression was dazed and somewhat confused.

“Hongjoong!” Seonghwa exclaimed and pulled the younger male into a tight hug, “We were so worried about you! Where were you all this time? San and Wooyoung are back already!”

Hongjoong visibly relaxed as he let himself melt into Seonghwa's embrace. He pressed his face into the well-worn softness of the hoodie while his fingers curled into the excess fabric at Seonghwa's arms. They stood there like that for a while, with Seonghwa gently rubbing Hongjoong's back as he rocked slightly from side to side. Seonghwa had never seen Hongjoong so vulnerable before; this embrace felt incredibly intimate and Seonghwa felt as though he was being allowed to see something Hongjoong would have usually kept under lock and key. He could sense that the others had come into the hallway to see their leader and sent a look over his shoulder that commanded them to let Hongjoong be for now. Truthfully, there was part of Seonghwa that simply didn’t want the others to see their leader like this - he wanted to be the one to comfort Hongjoong. When he was sure the younger males had retreated Seonghwa daringly pressed his nose into Hongjoong's hair and breathed in deeply, “You haven't said a word,” he whispered, “Are you okay?”

“I...don't know what happened tonight...” Came the muffled response.

In any other situation, having Hongjoong pressed into his chest would have left Seonghwa's heart pounding, but all he wanted to do was bundle the shorter male up and cuddle him until he felt completely safe. That was more or less what he did; he carefully lifted Hongjoong up and was relieved when two little legs wrapped themselves around him, while the hands that had been clutching his hoodie limply snaked around his neck. Seonghwa plopped Hongjoong down onto his own bed, still messed up from where he had scrambled out of it earlier, and gently threaded his long fingers through Hongjoong's hair. It was only then, as Hongjoong shuffled around to get comfortable, that Seonghwa noticed two slits in the back of the younger male’s t-shirt.

“Hongjoong, what happened to your shirt?”

The blonde stilled suddenly and Seonghwa felt a pang of guilt for asking when Hongjoong was clearly upset.

“You don't have to talk about it now,” Seonghwa's free hand drifted over to touch Hongjoong's fingertips, “Or at all, if you don't want to. I'm just so glad you're safe. I was so worried...I shouldn't have gone home and left you there. I'm sorry.”

Hongjoong shook his head. “No, I told you to,” His eyes were still dazed as he spoke, and there was a moment of silence until Hongjoong carefully placed his hand over the older male's, “Thank you for worrying about me, Seonghwa.” 

Seonghwa let out a huff of a laugh, “I always worry about you,” He grinned lightly, and the adorable smile Hongjoong rewarded him with had Seonghwa feeling warm and fuzzy inside. 

There wasn’t much talking after that - Hongjoong seemed somewhat vacant, as though his mind was very much elsewhere. They settled into the mattress together, Seonghwa gently rubbing circles into Hongjoong’s back again, and soon enough the blonde had drifted to sleep. The older male forced himself to stay awake a little longer, partly to be a hundred percent sure Hongjoong was safely sleeping and not about to wake up again, and partly because it was incredibly rare for him to get to sleep with his leader. Hongjoong’s body seemed so small and soft next to his own; Seonghwa wished he could wrap his arms right around the younger male and hold him close. But this was enough for now, knowing Hongjoong was relaxed and by his side. Slowly, Seonghwa himself closed his eyes and let the heaviness of sleep wash over him.

The following morning Seonghwa woke to find Hongjoong still nestled in his arms. He couldn’t help but smile; usually if they ever cuddled at night they would still return to their respective beds before actually dozing off. Hongjoong must have been exhausted. Seonghwa peered down at the mess of blonde hair and wondered if he could stay in bed an extra five minutes, just to enjoy this precious moment.

“Morning,” The younger male’s deep morning voice snapped Seonghwa back to reality, “Mm...did I hear an alarm go off?”

Seonghwa sucked in a breath when Hongjoong rolled over to face him, sleepy eyed and adorable, “Yeah, it’s time to get up I’m afraid,” He sighed, “How are you feeling?”

Hongjoong pulled the blanket off himself and frowned when he realised he was still wearing the t-shirt and jeans he’d had on the night before, “I’m….okay?” He seemed to be questioning himself, eyebrows furrowed deeply in thought, “I think I had a weird dream...but it’s already fading.”

“You probably did, given everything that happened yesterday.”

“Yeah, that must have been it,” Hongjoong shifted until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, head tilted towards Seonghwa, “Um...thank you for being with me last night.”

Seonghwa’s eyes widened when he detected a hint of blush on Hongjoong’s cheeks. Was he feeling embarrassed? Shy? Either way, Seonghwa’s heart rate picked up a notch as he tried to be as nonchalant as possible - this involved an overly cool, “No problem,” followed by him jabbing his foot into Hongjoong’s side so the younger male tumbled off the bed with a yelp.

“Hey!!!”

“Get dressed,” Seonghwa stifled a laugh, “And you need a shower!”

\---

Hongjoong hadn’t exactly lied about what happened the night before - he truly couldn’t comprehend what went on - but he hadn’t been entirely truthful either. It had been so bizarre that he thought the others would tell their manager he’d finally gone and lost it, his frequent all-nighters at the studio perhaps to blame. He could recall it vividly, in fact, but was actively telling himself he must have imagined it all...somehow. 

When Hongjoong stepped into the darkness of the trees and called out to his bandmates there were quiet little giggles in the distance. But then there was another giggle - something softer and lighter, almost ethereal - that drifted past him on a gentle breeze. Then everything else went silent. It was total silence, the sort where one can only hear the ringing in their own ears, and then the giggle floated past him again. Hongjoong slowly moved to the left, noticing that the laughter had become louder and clearer. It should have been scary, but it wasn’t at all. It was a genuinely joyful sounding laugh, and Hongjoong found himself smiling as he followed it. He was vaguely aware that the darkness around him seemed to intensify, but as soon as the thought entered his mind there was a flash of light that was over as soon as it started. Shaken from his trance, Hongjoong threw his head over his shoulder and spotted mushrooms encircling him, crooked and dull in the darkness. 

“What’s going on...?” He whispered, unsure if he should move or stay put. 

There was another flash of flight.

When Hongjoong opened his eyes, he was no longer in the park. The first thing he saw was a deep purple carpet, gold trim running along the edges, and his own knees pressed into said carpet. Frowning, he cautiously glanced up, eyes following the long, thin expanse of purple as it ran up, up, up, climbing a short set of stairs until it stopped beneath what appeared to be a throne. A female sat on the throne, though Hongjoong couldn’t make out much detail from where he was kneeling. There must have been music playing, or loud talking at least, because after a few seconds Hongjoong became very aware of a sudden silence again - though this time he appeared to be the cause of it. There were people all around him who had stopped in their tracks to observe him with only a hint of surprise, but a lot of interest. Hongjoong let his gaze wander from one face to the next, until his eyes settled not on a face, but on a set of beautiful wings on the back of one - two - three - all of the people present. His head was snapping around now, making sure that every single person had wings. Sure enough, they did, and they varied in size, shape and colour. Some were reminiscent of butterfly wings, others moths and others like dragonflies. Everyone was dressed impeccably in clothing Hongjoong had only seen in children’s tales and historical dramas - the clothing appeared to be from a variety of cultures, depending on the wearer, but they all looked fantastical and expensive. They also all seemed to have pointed ears, though the shapes differed slightly between them.

“Welcome,” A voice sounded, clear and pretty as a bell, “I’m glad you decided to join us.”

Hongjoong’s gaze snapped back to the throne, where the female had stood up and was slowly making her way down the stairs towards him. A set of striking red and orange wings, enormous and reminiscent of a dragonfly’s, spread out like a display of peacock feathers. Her hair was a deep red, slightly wavy and long enough to dance at her waist as she walked. She wore a long, flowing dress that looked to be made out of an extremely delicate fabric and sparkled as if it had been fashioned from gold dust.

“Where am I?” Hongjoong asked hesitantly, slowly pushing up off the floor.

“You are in my castle,” The female smiled brightly, gesturing to the grand room in its entirety, “I am the queen of the summer court. And your name…?”

“Um. Hongjoong?”

The female laughed at that, “Well, Hongjoong, welcome. I was getting bored at this party, so I must admit I was observing you a little earlier. How caring you seemed to be, looking after your friends even when they ignored your warnings! I could just sense that you’re a good person, the sort of human who should be treated to the riches of our realm!” She clasped her hands together excitedly, smile wide on her delicate face.

Now that she was close Hongjoong noticed how her blue eyes stood out against her tanned skin. She was striking, in a sort of inhuman way. “Excuse me for asking,” He bowed his head politely, “But what are you? You aren’t human?”

“Oh,” She seemed impressed by his etiquette, “This is the realm of the Fae, my dear. You stand in one of the four Faerie Courts. In this court, our connection to the human realm is strongest in the summer. My name is Queen Heulwen, but you should refer to me as ‘your majesty’ at all times when you are in this realm.”

Despite finding the situation utterly bizarre, Hongjoong’s idol training had him throwing himself into a deep bow before Heulwen. 

“Very good!” She clapped her hands softly, “Why, I think I made a wonderful decision in letting you come here.”

After a little while Hongjoong was shown to a smaller room where faeries were lounging at tables, elaborately decorated with fine white lace and beautiful flowers. The walls in this room were almost completely covered with tapestries depicting various summer scenes - green trees, bright suns and fae folk dancing, each bordered with gold thread trims. The faeries all stood up from their seats to bow or curtsy at Heulwen as she entered the room, sitting back down only after she gave a regal nod in their direction. The queen ushered Hongjoong to one of the empty tables and promptly began to ask him all about his life in the human world. She listened with great interest as he explained how he was due to debut as an idol - he had to explain what that meant, too - and that he was going to be the leader, and how amazing all his bandmates were. 

“So you’re a performer!” Heulwen’s expression brightened and her eyes seemed to sparkle, “Would you perform for us? Now?”

In truth, Hongjoong really didn’t want to perform for a room of faeries that he wasn’t even sure were real, but something about being asked by their queen made him feel like he didn’t really have an option; he’d heard about curses and the like. He gave a shy nod and Heulwen flew to her feet, one hand scooping around Hongjoong’s back to guide him into the centre of the room.

“My loyal subjects,” She raised her arms elegantly, “The human Hongjoong, who I have invited to our realm, is going to perform for us!”

At this the faeries all began clapping and fluttering their beautiful wings in unison. 

Aware he could no longer back out of this, Hongjoong fished his phone from the pocket of his jeans and held it up sheepishly, “Is it okay if I play some music from this?”

Heulwen bent forward ever so slightly, looking down her nose at the item in question, “That is...one of those phone things, yes?”

“Yeah,” Hongjoong was already scrolling through his downloaded playlist - he doubted they had wifi in the realm of the Fae, “I’ll show you some human music, your majesty.”

Heulwen waved her hand, permitting the use of the device, and Hongjoong selected one of the many tracks he and the boys had perfected a dance cover for. He placed the phone on the floor at a safe distance and began to move to the beat, painfully aware of the roomful of eyes starting at him. He felt awkward and self-conscious at first, dancing alone to this music as it echoed through the room. But then the faeries started smiling and cheering and enjoying it. They seemed so genuinely interested in him and performance that the awkwardness quickly melted away, replaced by his usual fiery charisma. He even felt daring enough to rap a few verses, which were met by even louder cheering.

When he finished the room fell silent, save for his heavy breathing from the exertion. Heulwen appeared again at his side, having moved away to observe him. Her eyes were sparkling even more than before and an enormous smile pulled at her face.

“Bravo, bravo!” She cried out, “It has been so long since such an exquisite human has graced our court! Oh, won’t you stay here, Hongjoong? You can perform and enjoy our realm and -” She suddenly paused, eyebrows shooting up and smile widening impossibly, “ - and you can be like us!”

Hongjoong glanced around the room, trying to deduce what she meant via the raised eyebrows coming from the other faeries.

“As the queen of this court, is it within my power to do this for you. May I please hold your hands?” Heulwen held out her own dainty hands and waited for Hongjoong to take them. He did, hesitantly, and then Heulwen closed her eyes, eyebrows furrowing slightly in concentration. 

Hongjoong felt a tingle in his chest that slowly spread throughout his body, right down to his fingertips. Then his skin prickled and began to illuminate as if he was a tiny golden sun. It was truthfully quite frightening for Hongjoong, so he too closed his eyes and tried his hardest to ignore all the strange sensations - he could only trust that Heulwen wasn’t doing anything untoward to him. After what felt like another minute or so, he felt Heulwen pull her hands away from his and so opened his eyes.

“Oh my,” Heulwen whispered, eyes raking up and down his body, “You are truly beautiful, Hongjoong. Of course, you were already, but...”

Once again Hongjoong scanned the room, this time watching as every faerie seemed to either gasp or smile or whisper to another. He carefully looked down at his own hand to see that his nails were somehow painted a burnt orange colour. 

“Come, come,” The queen gestured to the back of the room, where a mirror peeked out from behind some wall tapestries. Two faeries jumped to their feet and pulled the tapestries away from the mirror, bowing to Heulwen before stepping away again. Heulwen nodded graciously in their directions before urging Hongjoong closer, “Look at yourself,” She spoke softly, “Look how beautiful you are.”

Hongjoong took small steps towards the mirror, eyes widening when he saw that his hair was not blonde, but a vivid red. A set of amazing butterfly wings had appeared on his back, red and orange with dashes of both deep and bright blues. They seemed to sparkle as he flexed them slightly - it felt like he was engaging an entirely foreign part of both his brain and body to do so. Curious, Hongjoong curled his arm around to feel at the base of his wings, and indeed, the back of his shirt now had two slits where they had burst through. It had been painless though, he pondered, eventually putting it down to the queen’s magic. He glanced at Heulwen, silently asking if he might take a closer look in the mirror. She gave an urgent nod and Hongjoong moved closer and closer until his sharp nose was almost touching the mirror. It was then that he noticed his eyes were blue in colour, a shade not unlike when he’d tried contacts in preparation for his future idol photoshoots. He also had a few sun-kissed freckles dotted across his cheeks and nose, as if he’d been out playing all summer. Hongjoong reached up to hook his bangs behind his ears and couldn’t help but grin when he saw that they were pointed. So, he had been made to look like a faerie.

“Tell me, what do you think?” The queen pressed.

“This is amazing,” Hongjoong had to admit he truly did look good, “But what does this mean?”

“It means,” Heulwen opened her arms out, “You can stay here as one of us! This is a once in a lifetime offer - no, even more than that! I have never made such an offer to a human before. If you stay with us, you will not age like a human; you can have fun with us forevermore. Don’t you want that? The human world can be so dull and harsh…”

Hongjoong was quite taken aback by such an offer - although he knew little of this realm, and still wasn’t quite sure it was even real, he felt honoured that the queen wanted him to stay. But it was also this offer that had Hongjoong wondering how long he’d been gone from the human world. It must have been some hours, surely. Were the boys okay? Were they worried? He felt a pang of guilt that he had even entertained the idea of staying to talk to the faerie queen when his friends were probably worried sick - and what happened to San and Wooyoung? He could only hope they’d given up playing around and gone home. 

“I’m sorry, your majesty, but I have to go home. I truly appreciate your offer - I really do - but I’m going to be a leader for my band mates. I can’t just leave them suddenly like this, it’s not right. I want to see my dream through and become an idol with them...in the human world.”

Surprisingly, Heulwen didn’t look angry or shocked. She simply fixed her expression and gave a small nod, “I thought you might say that,” She sighed, “When you were talking about being an idol I could see how passionate you were about it. I am no cruel queen, I shall not keep you here against your will. But I want to give you the gift of this realm somehow; now that I have seen you as a faerie I simply cannot let you go forever. Hongjoong, please come to visit us when you have time.”

“How can I do that?” 

Heulwen held out her hand as if requesting Hongjoong to kiss it, “Don’t worry, I will make those arrangements. Now, you must pay your respects and I will return you to your world.”

Hongjoong carefully dropped onto one knee and pressed a tiny kiss to the queen’s hand. As soon as his lips touched her skin Hongjoong’s vision began to go white, closing in until he could only see the queen’s faint smile before the whiteness took over. 

When Hongjoong could see again, he was lying on the damp grass of the park, surrounded by mushrooms. He slowly sat upright and drew his knees into his chest, encircling his arms around them. There was a lot to process and Hongjoong was terrified that what had happened might have been real - and he was still scared even if it hadn’t. For all his confidence earlier, dancing and rapping and talking with fairies, he was now barely fighting back tears. He hadn’t felt in danger while in the faerie’s realm, but now that he was gone he was flooded with emotions. It was overwhelming. Had he lost it? Was he going to be okay? Were San and Wooyoung okay? He hesitantly reached around to his back again, gently tracing a finger up the back of his t-shirt until he suddenly felt skin.

“No…” He drew in a sharp breath, “No way….”

Sure enough, his shirt was ripped where his wings had protruded through it in the summer court. Hongjoong didn’t know what to do with this information. It felt too real too soon, and he simply wasn’t ready to accept that the past few hours had actually happened. He choked back a sob and pressed his face into his knees. He knew he needed to go home - he desperately wanted to go home - but how could he answer his friends when they asked where he’d been? For now all Hongjoong wanted was to be comforted, to feel safe and at home. He loved all his friends from the bottom of his heart, but there was one in particular he needed most.


End file.
